Starter quiz
- What is juxtaposition?
- comparing two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' to create a vivid image
- a word/phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences
- placing two or more things side by side to emphasise their differences ✓
- a word that imitates or suggests the sound it represents
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- Select the verbs below which are in the present tense.
- was
- jumps ✓
- sing ✓
- smashed
- is ✓
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- What is free verse?
- a poem with a strict rhyming and rhythmic pattern
- a poem with a strict rhyming pattern but no set rhythm
- a poem with a strict rhythmic pattern but no rhyme scheme
- a poem with no rhyming or rhythmic pattern ✓
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- How many speakers does the poem 'What Were They Like?' have?
- one
- two ✓
- three
- four
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- Complete this sentence: 'The poet of 'What Were They Like?', Denise Levertov, was ...
- a photographer who was sent to photograph the Vietnam War.
- a sociologist who was passionate about the stories people tell about themselves.
- a frontline soldier during WWI who wrote about her own experiences of war.
- an active and passionate campaigner against the Vietnam War. ✓
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- Which of the following quotations from 'What Were They Like?' is repeated multiple times throughout the poem?
- "Had they an epic poem?"
- "There is an echo"
- "laughter is bitter"
- "It is silent now."
- "It is not remembered" ✓
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Exit quiz
- What does 'harmony' mean?
- a piece of music, based on a historical piece of art
- more than one person singing together
- two contrasting elements found near or next to each other
- a pleasing combination of elements which result in a sense of unity or balance ✓
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- Why does Levertov frequently use repetition and symbolism in her 'answers' to each 'question' in the second stanza of 'What Were They Like?'
- to imply that war has changed symbols of joy to symbols of sadness and grief ✓
- her poem has a repeated chorus which emphasises her overall message
- to suggest that history continually repeats itself
- to imply that history is figurative and can always be rewritten
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- In 'What Were They Like?', Levertov uses references to heat damage, describing things as "burned" and "charred". How could this link to the wider context of the poem?
- She could be linking to harsh weather conditions in Vietnam.
- She could be referring to the forest fires that regularly occur in Vietnam.
- She may be referencing the napalm firestorms which injured and killed millions. ✓
- She may be linking to the flamethrowers used by anti-communist forces.
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- What is juxtaposition?
- a situation where two ideas or actions are in conflict with each other
- placing two or more things side by side, contrasting them for emphasis or effect ✓
- a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses for emphasis
- a style of poetry that does not follow a specific rhyme scheme or rhythm
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- How does the final line of 'What Were They Like?' convey a continued sense of grief and loss?
- It uses repetition to show how little is remembered of Vietnamese culture.
- It shifts to the present tense to imply that the grief is still ongoing. ✓
- It uses a rhetorical question to emphasise how unnecessary the war was.
- It shifts to the past tense to reflect on everything that was lost in the war.
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- Which of these quotations from 'What Were They Like?' conveys a sense of hope that remnants of Vietnamese culture have remained?
- "It was not remembered."
- "A dream ago, perhaps."
- "There is an echo yet" ✓
- "Who can say?"
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- There are many juxtaposed images of beauty and destruction in the poem.
- The past tense highlights what is lost in war.
- The poem ends in the present tense, creating a sense of continued loss.
- The poem is written in free verse which could represent the lack of harmony and peace war brings.
- Levertov uses symbolism and repetition to emphasise the contrast between life before and after the war.
Common misconception
This poem takes a retrospective view on the Vietnam War, looking back on the devastation many years later.
The poem is set in an alternate future, set after the Vietnam War had ended (and the US had won). It was actually first published in 1968, while the conflict was still ongoing. The war didn't end until 1975.
Keywords
Juxtaposition - placing two or more things side by side, contrasting them for emphasis or effect
Free verse - a style of poetry that does not follow a specific rhyme scheme, meter, or other traditional poetic conventions
Harmony - a pleasing combination of elements (e.g. sounds, colours) which result in a sense of unity or balance
Culture - the shared customs, beliefs, practices and social institutions of a particular group of people or society
Chemical warfare - use of chemical substances (such as napalm or Agent Orange) to injure or kill enemy forces or civilians
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